19 Jul The Halfway Point: Criterion’s Summer Internship Program
By Solene Watson, Marketing Intern
As we just passed Week Five of the Criterion Summer Internship Program, I thought I would share an update about the experiences my fellow interns and I have had here at Criterion Systems. For one, being of part of this program has allowed me to learn a great deal about the marketing and communications aspect of a business-to-business company.
I have been fully immersed in the company, being welcomed to attend and listen into meetings, learning about the wide range of responsibilities the marketing team has in an IT and cybersecurity company. I have worked closely with Elizabeth Albrycht, director of marketing and communications, on various projects such as the latest issue of the quarterly Employee Newsletter. I have been enjoying writing posts for Criterion’s social media channels and being able to see how companies like Criterion utilize those channels. It has been fun being a part of this tight community and building relationships with some of the employees. I am grateful for all the experiences I am getting and for all the Criterion employees who welcomed me from the beginning of the program.
Brian: Policy and Governance
This is Brian’s first internship. He was initially a little nervous and excited, but he is experiencing new challenges every day and believes it is a great opportunity for him to grow and develop his skills. He is currently working for a policy team and supporting policy roadmap development. He enjoys working with his team and is excited to see what the next few weeks will be like.
Saurab and Annie: Cybersecurity
Saurab thinks the internship is going great and is a real learning experience as cybersecurity is a brand-new field for him. He did say that if the situation had allowed, he would have loved (as would have all of us) to have this experience in person, but he is still enjoying every moment of his research.
Annie has been really enjoying the flexibility her internship director has given them and she has learned a lot about cybersecurity, which will help her significantly when deciding what path she wants to choose in college. Each week she and her fellow technical interns received a specific topic to do research on and her favorite was learning about firewalls: “They are much more complex than one might think.”
Over the next few weeks, I am looking forward to working with all the other interns on our final project presentation, which we will give to company executives at the end of our internship. The people at Criterion are absolutely amazing and all of us have appreciated learning so much about how a IT Federal government contractor works.